Chapter 63: Song of the Four Seasons (6)

Right now, more than ever, I could feel it keenly.

I was definitely talented at teaching.

“This huge misangche just… flew in like a bee, bursting through an apartment building and buzzing around…”

They were Ianna’s memories.

To be precise, I was loosely adapting stories that Ianna had personally experienced and telling them to the kids.

The little ones sat crouched down, listening intently to my stories, losing track of time.

At some point, even Han Byeolhwa had joined their group.

“Wham! Like a comet, she darted forward and just—bam bam!—with both fists…!”

As I added more dramatic acting, the kids’ mouths gaped wider and wider.

For some reason, Han Byeolhwa’s face had gone red.

“Awesome! That’s amazing…! You did so well…!”

“…Impressive.”

As I was patted on the head and praised by Han Byeolhwa and the kids alike, I found myself puffing up with pride.

It felt like I had achieved something truly meaningful.

“Want some candy?”

“…Yeah.”

Spring was the one offering candy—and I was the one eating it.

‘…’

I realized something had gone wrong the moment I popped the candy into my mouth.

I had intended to instill admiration for Ianna in these three girls—but somewhere along the way, the original goal had flipped on its head.

“This isn’t right…”

The looks in their red eyes weren’t admiration.

They were warm, sparkling gazes—like the way one looks at a cute little animal.

Even Han Byeolhwa was giving me the same look.

“So? What happened next…!?”

Every time I delved further into the story, their praise and head-pats would come pouring in.

That made it hard to stop talking.

Still, I was relieved.

It felt like we’d broken down the walls between us.

Every human relationship starts with breaking down barriers.

Whether with a romantic partner or at a workplace, all relationships begin with the act of dismantling mutual walls.

When I moved houses, I used to visit neighbours with gifts—that was, in hindsight, one way of lowering barriers.

It was proof that I posed no threat to them or their families.

Humans are the only species on Earth to build such a highly developed society, and because of that, our personal boundaries are exceptionally well-defined.

After decades of dealing with magical girls, Ianna had learned how to approach others in a way that made them let their guard down.

So had I.

Acting a little silly.

Because the ones I was dealing with were kids, I approached them from their point of view, appealing to them with familiarity.

Ianna had never really handled children like this before—but I had.

That’s why I was in the middle of teaching them to respect and fear me, while also starting to see me as a friend.

Janwol’s magical girl.

Back when Ianna was showing off her full strength, no one dared look down on her.

They knew instinctively that they were no match for her.

Just as any normal person would act humble standing in front of a massive, muscle-bound bodybuilder, magical girls who trained with Ianna or interacted with her would naturally behave with humility.

Not like these unruly brats.

[…Director.]

Just then, Hojoon’s voice came from the inside pocket of my suit.

“…What is it?”

[It’s time.]

“…Got it.”

The Control Bureau.

Originally, all the global magical girl oversight organizations—except for China—had been unified.

That’s why the term “magical girl” was always part of their official names.

But for various reasons, that unified organization, the “World Magical Girl Institution,” had collapsed, leading to the current situation.

Among these groups, the real power behind the Bureau was the upper council known as the Judgment Committee.

That was where Hojoon belonged.

They were also the antagonistic force that constantly tripped up the protagonist, Cheonching, throughout the original story.

It was almost laughable—the upper management of the agency the protagonist worked for was also the villain.

But once the committee aligned on a decision, they were a force to be reckoned with—pushing Heosang to the brink of death and completely outmaneuvering her in psychological warfare.

Unfortunately, those chapters of mental battles came after most readers had already dropped the series, so very few actually got to experience the nail-biting tension between them.

I never understood it.

Why was I the only one who followed this incredibly fun novel all the way to its 500-chapter conclusion?

I kept recommending it and leaving comments.

I even secretly posted tons of reviews on various forums.

Because it was worth it.

After all, the author was none other than my half-sister.

I truly thought it was entertaining.

Or rather, I convinced myself it was.

Around Chapter 233, views dropped to just ten, and I was the only one leaving comments, but still, my half-sister kept updating it.

I supported her in secret.

I always thought it was better for my younger siblings to live with a dream—unlike me.

So I watched quietly and supported her now and then.

There was a significant age gap between us.

I couldn’t approach her easily.

After being abandoned by her mother and practically sold into our family, she had completely closed herself off.

She flinched whenever I got close.

But when we found the shared topic of her novel, she began to open up to me.

Her guarded heart softened.

That allowed me to take better care of her.

My family couldn’t function without me.

I was the only pillar, the only provider.

Her beaming smile was more precious to me than anything else.

No matter what anyone said, she was my blood.

My family.

The one I was bound to by fate.

Even when I lost everything and was dragged into the depths of despair, I thought of her.

If I disappeared, who would leave her comments?

Would she be sad?

I just hoped she wouldn’t blame herself.

That she wouldn’t give up on her dreams.

In the end, I couldn’t comment on the side stories she wrote afterward.

I was locked up in detention after being framed for every crime.

Anyway.

Two people with real influence from the Bureau’s upper echelon were coming here in person.

Whatever the reason, it was definitely a situation that required caution.

Especially the black-haired woman.

I had to keep an eye on her.

She was the type to do whatever it took to achieve her goals.

In the novel, after Ianna was killed by Cheonching and Hojoon was also killed, the one who devoured the Bureau from the inside was Kakoshinomiya Miko.

Readers speculated in-depth that Kakoshinomiya might have been the one who killed Hojoon.

There were plenty of counterarguments too, but I personally leaned toward the theory that Kakoshinomiya was the murderer.

After much debate, the other “readers”—which is to say, my other accounts—reluctantly agreed.

I was spending over 300,000 won a month maintaining multiple accounts just to leave comments for my sister.

All ten-plus comments were written by me.

I carefully gave each account a distinct personality, acting the part so well that no one would suspect they were the same person.

Every time a new comment appeared, my sister’s hand would twitch as she glanced at her phone.

It made me smile every time.

Kakoshinomiya clashed with Heosang in a mental war.

Knowing she couldn’t win head-on, she laid countless traps and cornered her.

She used family, friends, anyone and everyone without hesitation.

She took the entire country hostage to force Heosang into suicide.

She gave the order for all third-generation artificial girls under the Bureau to terminate Heosang and watched from a safe place.

She was beautiful on the outside, but internally rotten and monstrous.

That was how the author—my sister—described her.

“Then shall we go?”

“Go where…!?”

“To meet the VIPs.”

Byeolhwa got to her feet, and I fixed my messy hair and put on a determined face.

Only the clueless kids kept circling around me.

Beep—

Then, a faint signal tone echoed near my ear.

I instinctively looked toward Byeolhwa—but there was nothing there.

The sound was coming from…

…the children’s necks.

“…”

Because the atmosphere had been so noisy, I hadn’t noticed it until now.

But all three kids had the same type of bomb implanted in their necks—just like Byeolhwa.

And it wasn’t just the three of them.

The Control Bureau had embedded multiple devices in the bodies of all artificial girls in case they ever went rogue.

Not just self-destruct triggers, but also systems that would melt their bodies into mush, or even disconnect their brains from their spines.

No matter what happened, artificial girls could never betray the Bureau.

‘…No way.’

Still, those devices could only be activated from the Bureau’s central control room.

Without Hojoon’s approval, there was no way the self-destruct mechanism would be triggered.

It wouldn’t happen.

At least, not while Hojoon had entrusted these girls to me. Not now.

I forced myself to ignore the creeping sense of unease.

It felt like a dark storm cloud was rolling in, but I pushed the thought aside.

I had just managed to grow close to these three.

We were finally beginning to open up and bond.

Surely, there wouldn’t be a tragic twist that snatched everything away at the final moment.

Of course not.